All That Glitters Isn't Gold - It's Diamonds

Diamonds used to be the symbol of the rich and famous. Having always been the most precious stone on earth has always meant that they have come at a high price. Because of this, it always makes a girl feel special to have a diamond ring bought for her. That said, the standard of living for those in the Western world has risen at an unprecedented rate over the last one hundred years and more and more people are now able to afford diamonds.

When you think of a diamond, you mind is immediately drawn to the single solitaire diamond rings that you see in the jewellers windows for engagements but there are so many more uses for them. Smaller diamonds are often used in men's rings or to decorate the cheaper rings. However, diamond necklaces and earrings are also popular.

It is also a domain of the rich and famous to decorate watches and mobile phones with diamonds. In fact, if you look hard enough on the internet you will find pretty much anything you want can be encrusted with diamonds if you have the money to pay for it.

Speaking personally, and I hope my boyfriend is reading this, if I was to ever wear an engagement ring, it would have to be a diamond ring. To me, the solitaire diamond ring with a brilliantly cut stone that sparkles in any light is one that would show me how much I mean to him.

If you have an unlimited amount of money you can even buy a coloured diamond. These are more expensive that the average clear or white diamond because they are rarer to come by but the colour is brought about by impurities. While a red diamond may well be pretty and unbelievably expensive, I wouldn't know the difference between that and a much cheaper ruby so, again for the boyfriends benefit, a clear diamond ring is just fine, thank you very much.

There are plenty of imitation diamond rings about but it doesn't take much of an eye to be able to spot the cheaper versions. There are also some very poor quality diamonds on the market and the best way to ensure you are getting what you are paying for is to buy a diamond ring where the ring comes with a GIA certified diamond. This will tell you the quality of the diamond in its carat, colour and clarity as well as many other details.

Diamonds account for half of all precious stones sold throughout the world and the grading of the stones is an important aspect of how much they will be worth when it comes to valuing them. The better the quality, understandably, the more expensive they will be.

There is a whole industry set up throughout the world training people to grade diamonds. They will look for impurities that alter colour and clarity, they will measure them very precisely and they will also judge them on the cut. A well cut diamond will reflect light off every surface and this gives the diamond its brilliance. This is why you can look at two diamond rings of the same size and one will sparkle more than the other. Once again, for the boyfriends benefit, I'm not so concerned with lots of sparkle from lots of cuts. I much prefer the flatter surfaced one that means you can see depth to the diamond, but that's just my opinion and the only one that should count as far as him indoors is concerned.

About the Author

Jewellery expert Catherine Harvey looks at what makes a diamond ring the goal of all women looking to settle down.